USB is widely popularized as interface with external peripheral equipments of PC (Personal Computer). As USB equipment using USB as interface, various USB devices are proposed, and are actually used.
Among these USB devices, recording media provided with USB as interface with PC have file system at the recording media to have ability to perform management of data by the file system, and to have excellent portability. From this fact, it is expected that such recording media will be widely popularized as new media. Such recording media provided with USB as interface with PC perform data transmission/reception to and from PC through USB.
Meanwhile, in apparatuses adapted for handling personal information such as PC, a fingerprint collation apparatus adapted for performing fingerprint collation to thereby perform certification of user to permit use of the apparatus is proposed in the Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2000-182025 publication.
This fingerprint collation apparatus is caused to be of the configuration in which a sensor unit for reading fingerprint information is separated from a collation processing unit for collating the fingerprint information which has been read by the sensor unit to connect both units by a predetermined interface cord to thereby realize user certification processing by fingerprint collation at a position remote from the PC. In view of the above, there is proposed a method in which the above-described recording media are caused to have certification processing function by bio-information to use such certification processing function for user certification of PC to thereby use the recording media as security device in using PC.
In general, USB device using USB as interface is connected to a PC serving as host equipment through USB cable. By control of the host equipment, power is supplied from the host equipment, or data communication is executed between the USB device and the host equipment.
For allowing the above-described recording media, etc. to be media having excellent portability, those recording media have the configuration such that they can be directly connected to USB jack that the PC has without intervention of the USB cable. Namely, recording media have the configuration provided with USB plug adapted to be USB jack that the PC has as the USB connector.
However, there are instances where it becomes very difficult to utilize USB jack that the PC has depending upon (machine) type of the PC and/or place where PC body provided with USB jack is installed (provided), etc. For example, in the desktop PC of the tower type, in the case where the USB jack is located at the rear surface of the PC body, and/or in the case such that there is limitation in the environment where user places (installs) PC so that USB jack is disposed at the position where the USB device cannot be connected, USB device provided with USB plug could not be utilized unless the USB cable is used.
Moreover, recording media caused to have, e.g., fingerprint collation processing function as certification processing function by bio-information are required to put finger with respect to fingerprint sensor of the corresponding recording medium which has been directly connected to PC. For this reason, there is the problem such that the USB connector of PC is damaged by pressing of finger, there is the problem such that since position of the USB jack is different in dependency upon (machine) type of PC, there may exist PCs of the structure in which it is impossible to put finger onto the fingerprint sensor, and there is the problem such that even in the case where finger can be put, it is impossible to perform precise collation processing.
In order to avoid such problems, it is required for permitting use position of the USB device to be freely changed to perform connection with the PC by the USB cable as described above.
However, since both ends of the USB cable have plug shape in the USB standard, it is impossible to connect USB device having USB plug and PC through USB cable.